Friday, June 27, 2014

New map shows China as a continental country

During
the bonhomie years of 1950's, India and China had endorsed so called
“Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence” or “Panchsheel”
first put forward by the late Chinese premier Zhou Enlai. They
referred to mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity;
mutual non-aggression; non-interference in each other's internal
affairs; equality and mutual benefit; as well as peaceful
coexistence. However, within days of signing this, Chinese had
moved their troops in areas belonging to India, to build a road.

India's
Vice-President, Mr Mohammad Hamid Ansari, is visiting China at
present. He is the first Indian leader to visit China since a new
government was installed last month. Chinese are now repeating, what
late premier Zhou Enlai had said earlier and say that underpin of
China's foreign policy are the same old Five Principles of Peaceful
Coexistence.

But,
in an almost repeat of history of 1950's, China has simultaneously
unveiled a new official map of the country, showing its claims on
Indian soil as well as on the South China Sea and making the disputed
areas including its numerous islets and reefs appear like its
national territory, thus proving that all claims made by it to be non
expansionist country are totally false. The new map is being called
as “New vertical atlas of China” and has been released by Hunan
Map Publishing House.

All
the areas it has grabbed illegally from India during 1950's and
1960's are included as parts of China. Further, areas which are not
in its possession and are just being claimed by it are also shown as
parts of China. Thus entire state of Arunachal Pradesh of India has
been shown as Chinese territory. Traditional Chinese maps have shown
that country spread more in horizontal direction ( east-west) than
north south or vertical direction. The new map makes Chinese
territory look like a continent or something like the map of USA. To
do this the map maker has followed a simple trick.

Chinese
have been claiming almost 95% area of the South China Sea as its own
territory. However in earlier maps the disputed zone was normally
displayed in a tiny box at the bottom of the typically horizontal
map. The map maker has now included the entire South China Sea area
withing the boundaries of China making the country look like a
continent spread in vertical direction from equator to 45 d North
latitude. The new self-declared sea boundary in the South China Sea
now stretches right down to the coasts of Malaysia, Vietnam and the
Philippines.

Explaining
the rationale behind this change, China's ruling Communist Party's
official publication, People's Daily says on the web site: "The
islands of the South China Sea on the traditional map of China are
shown in a cut-away box, and readers cannot fully, directly know the
full map of China.”

Singapore's
Strait times reports Professor Lee Yunglung of the South China Sea
Institute of Xiamen University saying that the new map could be
China's way to test its neighbours' reactions. "The fact that
the map is published by a local publication house enables Beijing to
dodge the potential strong resistance from its neighbours,"

This
was clear from the statement issued by China's foreign ministry,
which said that people should not read too much into the issuing of
the new map. "The goal is to serve the Chinese public. As for
the intentions, I think there is no need to make too much of any
association here. China's position on the South China Sea issue is
consistent and extremely clear. Our stance has not changed."

There
has been no reaction so far from India as perhaps the new has not
reached the Indian media. Philippine foreign ministry however
responded promptly saying that the new map showed China's
unreasonably expansive claims that contravened international law and
it is precisely such ambitious expansionism that is causing tension
in the South China Sea.

There
bound to me more angry reactions from other countries later. What
should India do now? I feel that India should at least release a new
map showing all the Indian territories, which belong to it.